Hello,
Under General Emissions Evaluation for projects in France (ex. Flooring ):
1) Is a product testing ISO 16000 with French legislation VOC emission class labeling A+ sufficient?
Or
2) Does the emissions testing need to be ISO 16000 with French legislation VOC emission class labeling A+ and in conjunction with AgBB?
The USGBC Low-Emitting Materials Calculator & guide book states that option (1) is sufficient.
However the EUROFINS website & USGBC Low-Emitting Materials Third Party Certification table state that option (2) with AgBB is necessary.
(http://www.usgbc.org/resources/low-emitting-materials-third-party-certif... )
In France is AgBB testing always necessary? Any thoughts?
Thank-you,
Michelle Halle Stern
Senior Sustainability ConsultantGreenwood Consulting Group
120 thumbs up
July 9, 2014 - 12:39 am
I did some checking with USGBC staff and yes A+ labeling done by an ISO 17025 accredited lab following the ISO 16000 test methods is acceptable. This is confirmed in the LEED reference guide under International Standards.
Ian McCall
Environmental Engineer13 thumbs up
July 9, 2014 - 3:36 am
Perfect! Thank-you!
Ian McCall
Environmental Engineer13 thumbs up
July 15, 2014 - 7:13 am
Hello Michelle,
For the project in question we need a official response from USGBC. What is the best way to proceed? I have sent the same question to the "leedinfo@usgbc.org" on the 7th of July. Normally this takes them how long to respond? Is it possible to speed up their response time? Is a better option a CIR?
Thank-you,
Ian
Michelle Halle Stern
Senior Sustainability ConsultantGreenwood Consulting Group
120 thumbs up
July 17, 2014 - 9:41 pm
Ian, contact me offline.
Ian McCall
Environmental Engineer13 thumbs up
August 28, 2014 - 4:14 am
Below is a my question and the reponse from USGBC. (Thank-you Michelle for the help)
- - - - - - -
Case 01206101: General Emissions VOCs France A+ Class vs France A+ Class & AgBB
Question :
Hello LEED , Under General Emissions Evaluation for projects in France (ex. Flooring ):
1) Is a product testing ISO 16000 with French legislation VOC emission class labeling A+ sufficient?
(ISO 16000-3: 2010, ISO 16000-6: 2011, ISO 16000-9: 2006, ISO 16000-11:2006 either in conjunction with AgBB, or with French legislation on VOC emission class labeling)
OR
2) Does the emissions testing need to be ISO 16000 with French legislation VOC emission class labeling A+ and in conjunction with AgBB?
(http://www.eurofins.com/media/9738084/leed_nouvelle_version_v4.pdf, http://www.usgbc.org/resources/low-emitting-materials-third-party-certif... )
The USGBC Low-Emitting Materials Calculator & guide book states that option (1) is sufficient.
However the EUROFINS website & USGBC Low-Emitting Materials Third Party Certification table state that option (2) with AgBB is necessary.
In France is AgBB testing always necessary? Any thoughts?
Thank-you,
Cordialement,
Ian McCall
Ian McCall
Environmental Engineer13 thumbs up
August 28, 2014 - 4:15 am
Repose USGBC
- - - - - -
Case 01206101: General Emissions VOCs France A+ Class vs France A+ Class & AgBB
Dear Ian,
Thank you for your inquiry.
Yes, A+ labelling done by an ISO 17025 accredited lab following the ISO 16000 test methods is acceptable. I agree, we could be clearer on that point. Here’s an excerpt from the reference guide that is a little more informative:
International standards
Recognizing the need for additional compliance options for projects outside the U.S., this credit also references select international standards, which can be used only under specific conditions because of the complicated nature of air quality standards.
The German AgBB Testing and Evaluation Scheme (2010) is a leading industry standard that can be used for this credit, with some limitations. The AgBB standard does not represent a European consensus but does share common attributes with several European counterparts. It addresses six times more individual VOC requirements than the CDPH standard, and it specifies TVOC and total semivolatile organic compound (TSVOC) limits for all nonregulated substances. However, the standard has limitations, including the following:
The formaldehyde limit value of 10 ?g/m³ at 28 days must also be met when using the AgBB alternative, as specified for class A+ in French compulsory VOC emissions class labeling.
The AgBB requirements use different exposure scenario conditions than CDPH. Because VOC emissions from building materials generally decrease over time, the point in time for determining compliance is critical. The more time there is for off-gassing to occur, the easier it may be to meet the standard, even though in many cases the difference is minor (most emissions decay within the first week). CDPH requires compliance at 14 days; the full AgBB requirements apply at three or 28 days, which this credit does not take into
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to use the contact form at http://www.usgbc.org/contact or call us at 1.800.795.1747.
Stay up to date! Subscribe to the LEED Update at usgbc.org/subscriptions for quarterly newsletters on important updates to the LEED rating systems (including addenda notifications) and LEED Online.”
Regards,
U.S. Green Building Council
Reinhard Oppl
Independent consultant on VOC issuesformerly with Eurofins Product Testing A/S
332 thumbs up
December 10, 2015 - 10:02 am
Hi. Sorry for being late. If you read the USGBC Low-Emitting Materials Third Party Certification table (http://www.usgbc.org/resources/low-emitting-materials-third-party-certif...) at the bottom of page 3 then you will see:
French A+ is sufficient only for Composite Wood evaualtion, but for no other evaluation or product group.
Reinhard Oppl
Independent consultant on VOC issuesformerly with Eurofins Product Testing A/S
332 thumbs up
February 2, 2016 - 5:24 am
Hello, I just received a similar request from a customer of mine. He asks whether testing for the French VOC classes is good enough and AgBB testing is not required. Background is that a French VOC classes test looks after only 10 substances and TVOC, while AgBB looks after some 180 substances, TVOC, TSVOC, and more, and the limits are much more stringent (except for formaldehyde).
The reading of the credit is really not unambiguous. On the one hand it says
"Projects outside the U.S. may use products tested and deemed compliant in accordance with either (1) the CDPH standard method (2010) or (2) the German AgBB Testing and Evaluation Scheme (2010)." This is pretty clear (even though the low formaldehyde requirement on top of AgBB compliance unfortunately is not mentioned here, which gives continuous confusion and non-intended greenwashing in the market).
On the other hand it says
Test products either with (1) the CDPH Standard Method (2010), (2) the German AgBB Testing and Evaluation Scheme (2010), (3) ISO 16000-3: 2010, ISO 16000-6: 2011, ISO 16000-9: 2006, ISO 16000-11:2006 either in conjunction with AgBB, or with French legislation on VOC emission class labeling, or (4) the DIBt testing method (2010).
This can be read as if a test only of the 10 VOCs for French legislation could be good enough (2nd option in # 3), even though then compliance with AgBB is impossible to determine because of lack of data for the other 170 VOCs. The wording "or" contributes to misunderstandings.
I answered that AgBB compliance (plus low formaldehyde emissions as for French A+ class) is the criterion for this compliance path, just the testing may follow different standards - but all needed data should be produced for evaluating AgBB compliance, not only the limited set of data for France.
Would you support my point of view?
Michelle Halle Stern
Senior Sustainability ConsultantGreenwood Consulting Group
120 thumbs up
February 4, 2016 - 1:02 am
Reinhard, you have the best understanding of the international requirements of anyone I know. Yes I would support your point of view. The either/or goes with the list of ISO standards. So ISO plus (either AgBB or French legislation).
Xavi Ramon
Green Building MaterialsGreen Living Projects
6 thumbs up
February 5, 2019 - 4:46 am
Hi all, reading the previous comments, I am (again) confused about the compliant of "certification A+" for LEEDv4 low emitting credits. My understanding was that A+ was no enough to show compliance, but:
- As far as I know if a material (e.g. insulation) has the certification A+, is because it have been tested with the ISO 16000 standard. is this right?
- So, if "ISO16000 & A+" is enough to show compliance..., a product with the certification A+, would be then enough to show compliance.
can someone confirm this?
Reinhard Oppl
Independent consultant on VOC issuesformerly with Eurofins Product Testing A/S
332 thumbs up
February 5, 2019 - 5:05 am
Hi Xavi, if a material has the French label A+, yes then you can assume that it has been tested with the ISO 16000 standard (or with a compliant standard).
But this is not sufficiently fulfilled criteria for LEED compliance. The European pathway of LEED requires AgBB compliance AND low formaldehyde emissions, lower then AgBB requires. French label A+ is only one possible way to show these low formaldehyde emissions. It does not deliver sufficient data on all AgBB regulated 180 VOCs, for AgBB compliance.
The wording in the credit is: "Projects outside the U.S. may use products tested and deemed compliant in accordance with either (1) the CDPH standard method (2010) or (2) the German AgBB Testing and Evaluation Scheme (2010)." That's it.